Moaning and groaning with a dash of perspective for good measure.

I had a fantastic conversation with a client today about being old. Ok, we’re not old, but in a sea of college students in Eugene it sometimes feels that way when you have a toddler slung over your hip and they have a hemp tote slung over theirs. Yes, you’ve read this post before…but this time there is a slightly different spin so don’t get back to scrolling through your e-mail quite yet.

This client of ours is 31, she just re-enrolled at the U of O to embark on a long road to an art degree, one class at a time. So, I asked her what it felt like to be back in a classroom and it quickly came around to this answer: “I just want to soak it all in and learn as much as possible.”

We both lamented how we worked through college with an eye toward graduation and the beautiful, amazing future that sat there just waiting for us to embrace and run with it — we just had to get through the agony of finals, then the world would be our silly putty.

I nodded in agreement with her, looking back on French History or English 205, I wish I had soaked in so much more. I genuinely feel like I may actually be getting dumber because I’m not forced into an academic environment now. This is confirmed by the fact that Cash Cab is now a fear of visiting my brother in NYC. The point is, looking back 8 years, I wish I knew then what I do now. Cliche? Check. Cheesy? Sure. True? Absolutely, without a doubt.

So I wonder on a larger scale, what the perspective is of a 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80-something woman who has been where I am — working very hard for the money, attempting to raise a gracious, well-rounded daughter, balancing my desire to be successful in business with the desire to love, honor and cherish my family and friends and if it isn’t too much to ask, a few margaritas and a mini-vacation here and there — what is your perspective?

Take a moment, ponder and get on with your thing because if nothing else, the sun is going to rise again tomorrow whether you’re ready or not. So get ready already and do that silly putty thing with your day and make it yours.

~Ashley

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